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Effects of Varying Excess Air Ratios on a Hydrogen-fueled Spark Ignition Engine with PFI and DI Systems under Low-load Conditions

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Abstract

In this study, the effects of varying excess air ratios on a 2.0 L naturally aspirated (NA) hydrogen-fueled spark ignition (SI) engine were evaluated under low-load conditions by using port fuel injection (PFI) and direct injection (DI) systems. The engine speeds chosen were 1,200 rpm and 2,000 rpm. The excess air ratio was varied between 1.0 and 2.7 by controlling the throttle and hydrogen fuel rate under a brake mean effective pressure of 0.4 MPa. The combustion mechanism, net indicated thermal efficiency (ITE), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), gas exchange efficiency, mechanical efficiency, and engine-out nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions were mainly discussed. The results indicated that the main combustion duration of PFI was shorter than that of DI due to its homogeneity, and the ITE values of PFI were similar or slightly lower than those of DI. However, as the mechanical efficiency of DI was higher than that of PFI, the BTE values of DI were always higher than those of PFI (the maximum BTE was 39.7 %). The NOx reduction potential of DI was superior to that of PFI due to stratified combustion, and its lowest value was 0.03 g/kWh. In addition, as the CO2 concentration in the exhaust gas increased, the brake-specific CO2 reduced (< 5.71 g/kWh).

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Abbreviations

°ATDC :

after top dead center

BMEP :

brake mean effective pressure

BSNOx :

brake-specific NOx

BSCO2 :

brake-specific CO2

°BTDC :

before top dead center

BTE :

brake thermal efficiency

CO 2 :

carbon dioxide

CR :

compression ratio

DI :

direct injection

FC :

fuel cell

HRR :

heat release rate

H 2 :

hydrogen

ICE :

internal combustion engine

ITE :

(net) indicated thermal efficiency

MBT :

maximum brake torque timing

MFBx :

mass fraction burned x %

MIE :

minimum ignition energy

NA :

natural aspiration

NOx :

nitrogen oxides

PFI :

port fuel injection

P max :

maximum in-cylinder pressure

SI :

spark ignition

TDC :

top dead center

T max :

maximum averaged in-cylinder temperature

WOT :

wide open throttle

λ :

excess air ratio

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by a grant from the Basic Research Program funded by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (grant no. NK231F) for the experiment. This study was also supported by the National Research Foundation of South Korea (NRF) (No. 2021R1G1A1004451/Investigation into the hydrogen fueled lean SPCCI combustion engine by developing operating strategy and hardware) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea (MOTE) (No. 20018473/Development of Direct Injection Hydrogen Engine Source Technology based on Carbon-Free Hydrogen Fuel) in the aspect of conceptualization, data analysis and draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engine Research Department, Environmental and Energy Research Division, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, 156 Gajeongbuk-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34103, Korea

    Yongrae Kim, Cheolwoong Park & Young Choi

  2. Advanced Transportation Machinery Research Center & Division of Mechanical System Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, 54896, Korea

    Junho Oh & Jeongwoo Lee

  3. Department of Autonomous Vehicle System Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea

    Jeongwoo Lee

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  1. Yongrae Kim
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  2. Cheolwoong Park
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  4. Junho Oh
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Correspondence to Jeongwoo Lee.

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Kim, Y., Park, C., Choi, Y. et al. Effects of Varying Excess Air Ratios on a Hydrogen-fueled Spark Ignition Engine with PFI and DI Systems under Low-load Conditions. Int.J Automot. Technol. 24, 1531–1542 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-023-0123-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-023-0123-5

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